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Hooters-style 'breastaurants' experiencing a mini-boom

NEW YORK – The waitresses at Twin Peaks wear skimpy plaid tops that accentuate their chests. In case you didn’t catch the joke, the chain’s logo is an image of two pointy, snow-capped mountains. And the sports bar doesn’t stop there: It promises “scenic views.”

Twin Peaks owner Randy DeWitt downplays all of that and insists that the appeal of the restaurant goes beyond the obvious. Hearty meals and a focus on making customers feel special, he says, are what really keeps them coming back.

“We believe in feeding the ego before feeding the stomach,” he says. Or as the website of the mountain lodge-themed restaurant states, “Twin Peaks is about you, ’cause you’re the man!”

Twin Peaks is part of a booming niche in the beleaguered restaurant industry known as “breastaurants,” or sports bars that feature scantily clad waitresses. These small chains operate in the tradition of Hooters, which pioneered the concept in the 1980s but has struggled in recent years to stay fresh.

Instead of relying on lust alone, the new crop of restaurants is growing by offering new themes (think: rustic lodges and Celtic pubs) and varied menus (think: pot roast and shepherd’s pie instead of just burgers and wings). In other words, they’re hoping maybe people really are coming in for the food.

The nation’s top three “breastaurant” chains behind Hooters each had sales growth of 30 percent or more last year, according to Technomic, a food industry research firm. They still represent less than 1 percent of the nation’s top restaurants, but the upstart chains are benefiting as other mid-priced options have experienced declines.

“The younger crowds want to go to a newer place, not where Mom and Dad took them,” says Darren Tristano, an analyst at Technomic.

Tovan Adams says he frequents Tilted Kilt Pub & Eatery in Tempe, Ariz., where waitresses wear matching tartan mini-skirts and bras that fit in with the restaurant’s Celtic theme. He even brings his daughters, ages 6 and 9, with him for lunch.

“If you come in the evening, you’ll see a lot of kids here,” says Adams, an electrical engineer. “Everyone’s still got their clothes on. If you go to the beach, it’s a lot worse than being here.”

Lynette Marmolejo, a college admissions worker, dropped in at the Tilted Kilt for the first time recently. She likes that the restaurant is dominated by the “corporate crowd” rather than the “college crowd.” And she says the half-dressed waitresses don’t bother her.

“Prices and the food – if those are good, I don’t care what anybody’s wearing,” Marmolejo says.

Rose Dimov, a 22-year-old waitress at Tilted Kilt, says her job is no different from any other waitressing gig.

“Going to a restaurant should be an experience,” Dimov says. “We’re entertainers.”

Although the name might suggest otherwise, the owner of Mugs N Jugs in Clearwater, Fla., says his place also is like any ordinary restaurant with entertainment. Sam Ahmad says his game room, pool table and karaoke are why 40 percent of his customers are families.

As for the tank tops and shorts the waitresses wear, Ahmad says they don’t reveal too much. And those photos on the Mugs N Jugs website showing waitresses leaning over a pool table? Ahmad explains they are for marketing purposes.

“They’re at an angle because they’re at a pool table,” he says. “When you’re in the restaurant, you won’t see that. She’ll be standing.”

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